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 NEW DELHI (AP) - India's population of wild tigers, which wildlife experts have long warned is on the decline, is dramatically lower than previously believed, according to initial results from an exhaustive study of tiger habitats released Wednesday.
The initial results of the study, conducted over the past two years by the government-run Wildlife Institute of India, found that the tiger population in some states may be nearly 65 percent less than experts had thought.
Results were only available for some regions, and a total overall figure is not expected until late this year. But conservationists said the early results indicated the last tiger census — which found about 3,500 tigers — was far too optimistic.
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